Obama urges House to vote on a clean spending bill to end shutdown

Oct. 7 - The President made the remarks during an unexpected visit to FEMA to thank furloughed workers who were recalled to respond to Tropical Storm Karen. Linda So reports.

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On day seven of the government shutdown, President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He thanked furloughed FEMA workers who were called back to the job this weekend to respond to Tropical Storm Karen.
SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:
"Not only is this shutdown hurting FEMA workers, not only is it making it more difficult for us to respond to potential natural disasters, but it may actually end up costing taxpayers more than it should."
Obama urged House Speaker John Boehner to hold an immediate vote on a clean spending bill that would end the government shutdown.
SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:
"If Republicans and Speaker Boehner are saying there are not enough votes, then they should prove it. Let the bill go to the floor and see what happens."
The call for action comes as the U.S. approaches its deadline to raise the debt ceiling. If Congress cannot reach a compromise, the country would default on its debt.
Obama blames Republicans for playing games with budget negotiations. But Speaker Boehner says it's the President who's unwilling to budge.
SOUNDBITE: U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER, SAYING:
"This morning, a senior White House official said that the President would rather default than to sit down and negotiate, really."
The back and forth has done nothing to end the government shutdown.
Hundreds of thousands of federal workers continue to be furloughed. And many are starting to feel the pain.
SOUNDBITE: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE FURLOUGH FEDERAL WORKER, SAYING:
"I might be homeless because I'm like a lot of people, paycheck to paycheck."
National parks and monuments continue to be closed, leaving tourists with little to do.